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The pals battalions formed the bulk of the infantry for the divisions of the Fifth New Army (30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, and 35th) and the Sixth New Army (36th (Ulster), 37th, 38th (Welsh), 39th, 40th, and 41st). The exceptions were: the 37th Division was made up of 13 Army Troops battalions from the First (2), Second (2) and Third (9) New ...
"Pals" departing from Preston railway station, August 1914. The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and colleagues, rather than being arbitrarily allocated to battalions.
Most regiments had two regular battalions, supported by associated battalions from the Territorial Force ('part-time' soldiers) and Reserve Battalions. After the start of the war, many new battalions were raised and called "Service Battalions". Service battalions raised from a single locale were often called "Pals battalions".
The rush of Kitchener recruits had overwhelmed the Army's ability to absorb them, so the Pals battalions of K5 were left for some time in the hands of the recruiting committees. Until khaki cloth could be supplied, most of the men recruited by the WNEC were clothed in the grey Welsh cloth known as Brethyn Llwyd. Battalion training and selection ...
The battalion was to take part in an assault against the German lines in late afternoon, but by this time, it was apparent that the initial assault had been a catastrophic failure, which brought about a cancellation of further attacks. Thus, the Preston Pals escaped the heavy losses that were suffered by many other Pals battalions that day.
The concept of a 'battalion of pals' serving together originated with the 'Stockbrokers Battalion' of the Royal Fusiliers raised in the City of London and was taken up enthusiastically as the 'Pals battalions'. These local and pals battalions formed Kitchener's Fifth New Army, or 'K5', authorised on 10 December 1914. [2] [3]
They consisted of men volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies and the battalions became, respectively, the 14th, 15th and 16th (Service) battalions of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. A further battalion, 17th, was formed in June 1915 as a reserve battalion, and was reorganised in the Training Reserve in September 1916 as 92nd Training Reserve ...
The Sportsman's Battalions, also known as the 23rd (Service) Battalion [1] and 24th (Service) Battalion (2nd Sportsman's), Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) were among the Pals battalions formed by the British Army in the early stages of the First World War (1914–1918).